Earth Sciences Unit: Current Research:
Sabretoothed Cats
At one time, there were sabretoothed cats in Saskatchewan. These animals were not the famous "sabretoothed tiger" Smilodon from the ice age Rancha La Brea tar pits of southern California; instead, they were members of a much older group of sabretoothed carnivores called the Nimravidae.
Sabretoothed cat skull
Dr. Harold N. Bryant, Curator of Earth Sciences, is studying the teeth of at least two, and possibly three, different species of nimravid sabretoothed cats that have been found in fossil deposits in the Cypress Hills. One member of this group was Dinictis, which lived approximately 35 million years ago. Fragmentary remains of the teeth of this animal have been found in various localities in the Cypress Hills, including part of a canine (the "sabre") found by Joan Hodgins, formerly of the RSM Fossil Research Station at the T.rex Discovery Centre, in the spring of 1998. These finds are rare, but the recovery of more specimens will allow palaeontologists to reconstruct the diversity and evolution of this group of interesting mammals in Saskatchewan.
For further information contact the Curator of Earth Sciences